Plastic additives

(Plastisol Additives)

Plastic additives are commonly used in printing to improve the plasticity of ink additives, commonly known as varnish. There are many kinds of plasticized products on the market, which give printers many opportunities to choose. They not only have to decide which ink to use to meet the production requirements, but also decide which kind of ink can be used to achieve the best ink. match. Of course, if all of the inks are original and can be used directly, there is no need to use a varnish. But in fact this is not the case, for different applications and substrates, the type of the corresponding ink is also very different, we can not have all the corresponding ink types, and some jobs in the market may not have the corresponding ink. This has created a market for varnish that needs to be used to improve the printability and performance of the ink.

In order to meet the needs of customers, manufacturers provide several ink mixing systems and corresponding varnish. The most common scenarios are:

(1) Ink mixing system for a specific substrate. Use ink varnish to improve the performance of the ink on the surface of the substrate;

(2) Ink mixing system for a specific substrate. Use a varnish to make the ink suitable for printing on other substrates;

(3) General hybrid system. Used to meet the needs of decorating different substrates.

From a different point of view, each of the above solutions gives the ink more flexibility and flexibility. But does it mean that it is necessary to use the varnish? Of course not. Only when the work is needed does it consider which type of varnish is used.

In essence, all manufacturers provide ink varnish to help printers achieve some of the key parameters of the ink. At present, the varnish is mainly used to adjust the viscosity, degree of flash, increase gloss and stringiness. In addition, some manufacturers also provide ink varnish that reduces ink odor, varnish that increases the amount of ink, varnish that regulates ink transparency and color, and varnish that increases viscosity. Since the latter is more common, it will not be introduced here. The following set of roles will be highlighted below.

1. Viscosity varnish Because printers often misuse viscosity varnish, it is best not to use it, especially viscosity reducing varnish (plasticizer). Some printers added plasticizers using an estimated method, rather than adding them by measurement according to the manufacturer's instructions. As a result, the plasticity of the ink was often too large, so that the ink did not dry properly, resulting in failure of printing.

Today, most ink production uses alternate principles to minimize the use of viscosity varnish. However, when PVC resins are printed with such inks, it is necessary to absorb plasticizers to increase the viscosity of the ink. At present, the newly produced ink does not require plasticizers to meet the printing needs. If the ink is stored for a long time and there is a significant viscosity phenomenon, some plasticizers may be added.

In short, avoiding the use of plasticizers is the safest method. In addition, the easiest way to reduce the use of plasticizers is to carefully control ink ordering and storage. Do not overstore ink as long as it can meet the workload.

If the ink is still thick after adding the plasticizer, consult the manufacturer to see which plasticizer is best for the ink. And confirm whether it is added in strict accordance with the production instructions, but also to measure the amount added to avoid over-plasticity of the ink.

A related but not commonly used viscosity varnish is a tackifier. Tackifiers, like their name, are used to increase the viscosity of a given ink. However, there is little need for viscosifying. In general, when the use of an excessive amount of viscosity-reducing varnish is used, it is used to compensate for the viscosity. From this point of view, adding a tackifier to this ink is meaningless because it has been destroyed by excess plasticizer.

2. Flash Additives Flash additives reduce the viscosity of the ink after the ink is flash cured. The smaller the viscosity, the easier it is to print. When no white ink with good flash characteristics is found, the flash additive comes in handy. But today, a large number of white inks with high opacity, low cost and good flash characteristics have emerged. Therefore, its use is getting smaller and smaller.

However, flash additives are useful when you need to flash a color ink that is used as a background, or when you need to flash a color. For example, a multicolor design that requires special effects inks for printing requires flashing of the colors before using special effects inks. But even in this case, you can use flash inks instead of flash additives instead.

3. Light-reducing powders In the early days of the use of plastic inks, most of the inks were mainly used for sports printing, and the resulting gloss was generally high. However, with the expansion of the market, screen printing has been more than just sports printing. Some printers have demanded that the gloss be lowered, so manufacturers have introduced a light reduction powder to meet the needs of customers.

However, current inks can provide a lower gloss after drying, and if high gloss is required, high gloss sports inks must be used. These inks are generally characterized by fast drying at low temperatures and contain thermoplastics and therefore have a high gloss.

You may have realized that in practice, light reduction powders are rarely used. If you need high gloss, just choose a suitable sports ink. In other cases, low gloss requirements can be achieved with conventional inks.

4. Swelling Additives Swelling additives have several functions when used in combination with plastic inks, but their primary purpose is to allow printers to create an expanded image. During the drying process, printing colors become lighter due to the addition of swelling additives. This can be a problem for color-critical jobs.

With this negative effect, people add it to white or light colors to increase the ink's opacity. The ink added with the swelling additive has been recognized because it has many advantages such as flatness, low gloss appearance and dried textured surface. Swelling additives also play a large role in reducing the viscosity of white plastic inks after flash reduction.

5. Conclusions The above four additives were introduced. If you want to know more about the situation and other additives, you can contact the ink supplier. Suppliers can give you details and advantages and disadvantages of each additive. Finally, remind us that when using additives, they must be used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Do not rely on blind guessing to use.